H ere in Arizona and the Desert Southwest we have been living with a different kind of honey bee since the early 1990s. As the saying goes, “nature bats last”: accidents will happen, and sometimes lightning or other forces of nature kill one of our own, seemingly “out of the blue.” It is unusual for honey bees to attack and kill members of our species however, it does, of course, sometimes happen, and such deaths are not always entirely avoidable, although they are rare. This man’s death is a tragedy, and I extend my condolences to his family and friends, on my behalf and on behalf of the Northern Arizona Organic Beekeepers Association (NAOBA).Īs a beekeeper who loves the honey bees, I am always deeply saddened to learn about these rare incidents that result in the death of a fellow human being.
But what are some of the good things (like resilience) that these bees have already brought to beekeeping and beekeepers in Arizona and the rest of the “Africanized zone,” north of the USA/Mexico border? Exploring and considering these kinds of questions is what this commentary is all about.Ī s an Arizona resident who is also a beekeeper, I was saddened to read of a man’s death by honey bees in a story that was published by the Camp Verde Bugle on Wednesday, July 12, 2017. The commentary was written mainly for an audience of non-beekeepers, but what it has to say about Africanized bees is relevant to beekeepers, too.Īs a beekeeper yourself, what do you think about these issues? If the Africanized bees come to where you live, how will you respond? The extreme defensiveness (“aggression”) of some Africanized bees is their major “bad” characteristic, of course. This story was published in the Camp Verde Bugle on July 12, 2017: The commentary below was written in response to a news story about one such death. These deaths have happened in Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, California, and Utah. It is rare, but sometimes people who are not beekeepers are attacked and even killed by Africanized honey bees – not by the “killer” bees in our hives – but by these wild and feral colonies. Our domesticated colonies are living in a desert “sea,” surrounded by healthy, thriving, feral colonies of Africanized honey bees. These differences come from the fact that many Arizona beekeepers are working mainly or exclusively with Africanized, “kille r” honey bees. By: Patrick Pynes Here in the arid American Southwest – specifically Arizona – honey bees and beekeeping are distinctly different from other parts of the United States, like Ohio, Indiana, Montana, or North Dakota.
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